Sunday, March 28, 2010

Port Townsend, today. We hit yet another Blog milestone when the 50,000th viewer signed in just a few minutes ago!

We don’t know specific details as to who visitor number 50,000 was. But from my monitoring programs, this much we know:

Our monitoring service tells us visitor number 50,000 signed in at 6:37:43 pm, from Castroville, Texas. And didn't stay long - 18 seconds. Not as dramatic as I would have liked! Sorry, there isn’t a door prize, just the bragging rights to being visitor number 50,000.

Not everyone who enters intended to be here. Placing “Oil-Electric” into “Google” yields much different results than plugging us into “Yahoo” or “Alta Vista.” And I’m sure the guy who was looking for a furnace filter had a few choice words about his search engine as he left!

And those are not singular events that are counted. In other words, our solid core of returning readers trips the meter with every visit. Some of you check in once a week, some once a day, and several up to two or more times a day! One can only hope you are on your break time, or better yet, own the company!

And we have readers from all over the world.

I did get sweaty palms for a while when the US Army listening post in Arizona, you know, the one detailed in Tom Clancy’s “Clear and Present Danger,” - Fort Huachuca - had me dialed in for a few days, but obviously I’m still here!

The photo used today is a Damoy Omnium Stereoscope; a very elegant French stereoscope made of chrome plated brass, geared shift focus, and metal eyepieces. The detachable wooden handle has a black lacquer finish.

This viewer was manufactured in 1910 and would have been the delightful center of entertainment for upscale French families, following an elegant dinner. Family and friends would “ooo” and “awww” viewing 3D stereo photos, featuring subjects from around the world, would educate, inform, and yes, even titillate audiences of all ages.

My French isn’t all that great; however we do have Babblefish. So I typed in the wording of the instruction sheet, which gave us this rough translation:

Stereoscope Omnium d' mode; employment

Take the handle the stereoscope in your right hand and the stereoscope in your left hand, in introduce the nipple. A. into square tube B. while pushing well from the bottom.This made, open l' apparatus, after having releases the right hand on the button. C. which forms spring. For the development, after having place the chart, turning the serrated roller. C. adjust for focus (sic).

View-Master Ad - 1959

Of course virtually everyone at one time or another got to play with a View-Master. View-Master reels were the master at telling a complete story in seven frames. My favorite was the Cisco Kid and Pancho rounding up a gang of bank robbers, in seven frames!

I remember us kids swarming the Admiral Theater in West Seattle in 1953 to see Vincent Price in the 3D version of the “House of Wax.” I still have those flimsy cardboard frames with the red and green plastic film lenses around here somewhere!

My sister reports having just seen the new “Alice in Wonderland” in 3D. She was very impressed with the quality and reality projected.

3D television has now arrived, to educate, inform, and yes, even titillate audiences of all ages. Aren’t you glad you forked out all that money last Christmas for a HD Plasma or LED display?

Indeed, I co-owned Media Resources, Inc. in Vancouver Washington for a number of years.

When I began writing this Blog, the focus was on second-generation diesel power. As a young lad living in Prince Rupert, from 1957 through 1959, I began learning about diesel-electric locomotives. The Twilight of steam.

While my core interest remains unchanged, I have changed. Therefore, from time to time, I present subject material that I find absolutely interesting, hopefully you will too!